Financial Aid Professionals Celebrate 50 Years of Student Aid, Plan for the Future

Next month, nearly 3,000 financial aid professionals from across the United States will gather in Washington, DC, to teach, learn, network, and share best practices for the most pressing student aid issues for students and schools.

Policymakers and thought leaders in higher education will also join the financial aid community at NASFAA’s 2016 National Conference and 50th anniversary celebration. Best-selling author Jeannette Walls will kick off the four-day conference as the featured speaker at Sunday’s opening session. Walls is best known for her memoir, "The Glass Castle," which describes growing up in the desert of the American Southwest and then in a West Virginia mining town with her three siblings and her brilliant, unorthodox, irresponsible parents. During her speeches at colleges, corporations, and business associations, Walls discusses overcoming hardship and the keys to turning adversity to your advantage.

Conference attendees will also have the opportunity to hear from Under Secretary of Education Ted Mitchell; Rep. Bobby Scott, ranking member on the Committee on Education and the Workforce (D-VA); Rep. John Kline (R-MN), the chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce; NASFAA President Justin Draeger, and several former students featured in previous editions of NASFAA’s Student Aid Success Stories.

Chairman Kline – who will retire at the end of this Congress after serving 12 years in the House of Representatives – will speak during Wednesday morning’s general session about the work the House education committee has done over the last several years to prepare for the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, and will share the priorities of the committee.

To request an interview with a NASFAA spokesperson during the conference, or seek a complimentary media registration, please email timmonse@nasfaa.org or call (202) 785-6959.

About NASFAA

The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) is a nonprofit membership organization that represents more than 20,000 financial aid professionals at nearly 3,000 colleges, universities, and career schools across the country. NASFAA member institutions serve nine out of every ten undergraduates in the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., NASFAA is the only national association with a primary focus on student aid legislation, regulatory analysis, and training for financial aid administrators. For more information, visit www.nasfaa.org.